Konyak people
The Konyak are a Naga people, and are recognised among other Naga by their tattoos, which they have all over their face and hands. They are called the land of Angh's. They have the largest population among the Nagas.
The Konyaks can be found in Myanmar, in the Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal, and in the Mon district of Nagaland, India. They are known in Arunachal as Wancho Konyak.
The Konyak language belongs to the Northern Naga subbranch of the Sal subfamily of Sino-Tibetan.
Known as head hunters of North East India. In recent past they were known as war loving and often attack nearby villages of other tribes and with their skill they used to cut head of the opponent warriors and hang them in the Morong (A public House). The number of head indicates the power of concerned person and later becomes the village head. Though except these cruel behaviors, among them they show very disciplined public life where duty of every individuals is very strict.
Further reading
- Stirn, Aglaja & Peter van Ham. The Hidden world of the Naga: Living Traditions in Northeast India. London: Prestel.
- Oppitz, Michael, Thomas Kaiser, Alban von Stockhausen & Marion Wettstein. 2008. Naga Identities: Changing Local Cultures in the Northeast of India. Gent: Snoeck Publishers.
- Kunz, Richard & Vibha Joshi. 2008. Naga – A Forgotten Mountain Region Rediscovered. Basel: Merian.
- Alban von Stockhausen: Imag(in)ing the Nagas: The Pictorial Ethnography of Hans-Eberhard Kauffmann and Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf. Arnoldsche, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-89790-412-5.